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The early years of forestry in Oklahoma : a project for the state centennial.

As the timber harvest moved farther away from the
mills, the daily commute for the workers grew
excessive. Dierks developed the concept for a roving
camp that would house the workers in the forest but
which could be moved when the timber had been cut
out. The “traveling timber town” idea was born.
A “town” consisted of about 200 homes for 800
workers, and included a school, church, water tower,
the company store, and even a movie theater.
Between 1910 and 1968, Dierks’ timber towns were
set up in ten locations in Oklahoma, including seven
different sites for the Post Office at Clebit.
On “moving day,”
houses were cut in
half and loaded
onto railcars (trucks
were used later) for
transfer and
reassembly at the
next town site.
Initially, Dierks’ timber harvesting philosophy
mirrored large companies elsewhere - get all
merchantable trees from the woods to the mill as
efficiently as possible, and don’t worry about the
future. However, in 1915 the Company significantly
changed its philosophy, and began to leave seed trees
to reforest their lands. By the early 1920s, Dierks had
begun a fire control program with observation
towers, fire wardens, and telephone
lines. They began hiring professional
foresters in the 1920s, and worked
closely with the Oklahoma Forest
Commission (now Oklahoma Forestry
Services) established in 1925. The
Commission
strengthened
the wildfire control program
and began programs in
seedling production and
education that helped
restore the State’s forests.
For more than 60 years, Dierks remained the largest
forest industry in Oklahoma, managing 1.8 million
acres of timberland and operating six large sawmills
in the Oklahoma-Arkansas region. The Weyerhaeuser
Company purchased the lands and operations of
Dierks Forests, Inc. in 1969, and started a new
chapter in Oklahoma’s colorful forest history.
Forests of Today
Of Oklahoma’s original 13 million acres of forest,
more than 8 million acres remain in forest cover.
Three-quarters of our forests are the pines, oak-pines
and hardwood forests of eastern Oklahoma. About
one-quarter consists of the oak-hickory of the Cross
Timbers, the hardwood forests along our rivers and
streams, cypress swamps, junipers and a variety of
woody vegetation that make Oklahoma’s forest
ecosystems some of the most diverse of any state.
Forests of Tomorrow
Forests are dynamic and renewable. The forestlands
harvested by the Dierks a century ago are as healthy
and productive as ever. Using good management
practices, our forests will remain so in perpetuity. In
the 21st Century, forestlands are being appreciated for
all the ecosystem services they provide – wood
products, wildlife habitat, clean air and clean water,
scenery, recreation, carbon sequestration and other
environmental benefits. Keeping forestlands in forest
is one of the great challenges facing forest owners,
policymakers and the State Forester as we strive to
provide the goods and services needed by a growing
population and an urbanized society while
considering the needs of the generations that follow.
You Can Help
Be our partners in sustaining Oklahoma’s forests for
the next 100 years by contributing to the forestry
cost-share program that helps landowners plant trees,
better manage their forests and keep their lands in
forest, and by supporting our programs in forestry
education and management. The history of our
forests, as well as a book about Oklahoma’s
“traveling timber towns,” is featured at the Forest
Heritage Center, located in Beavers Bend State Park.
The State Foresters of Oklahoma
George R. Phillips January 1926 - September 1936
Glen R. Durrell November 1936 - late 1946
Donald E. Stauffer Early 1947 - 1969
Albert Engstrom December 1969 - July 1975
Elmer G. Peebles June 1975 - August 1977
James W. Stanford (Acting) August 1977 - Feb 1978
James T. Riley March 1978 - January 1982
Roger L. Davis January 1982 - June 2002
John C. Burwell July 2002 - Present
Okla. Dept of Agriculture,
Food & Forestry-
Forestry Services
2800 N Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-522-6158
10,000 copies of this publication were printed by Central Printing as authorized by Terry
Peach, Commissioner of Agriculture for a cost of $2,011. Copies have been deposited
with the Publications Clearinghouse of the Okla. Department of Libraries. Nov. 2007
The Early
Years of
Forestry in
Oklahoma
A Project for the State
Centennial
Forestry Services Division
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry

As the timber harvest moved farther away from the
mills, the daily commute for the workers grew
excessive. Dierks developed the concept for a roving
camp that would house the workers in the forest but
which could be moved when the timber had been cut
out. The “traveling timber town” idea was born.
A “town” consisted of about 200 homes for 800
workers, and included a school, church, water tower,
the company store, and even a movie theater.
Between 1910 and 1968, Dierks’ timber towns were
set up in ten locations in Oklahoma, including seven
different sites for the Post Office at Clebit.
On “moving day,”
houses were cut in
half and loaded
onto railcars (trucks
were used later) for
transfer and
reassembly at the
next town site.
Initially, Dierks’ timber harvesting philosophy
mirrored large companies elsewhere - get all
merchantable trees from the woods to the mill as
efficiently as possible, and don’t worry about the
future. However, in 1915 the Company significantly
changed its philosophy, and began to leave seed trees
to reforest their lands. By the early 1920s, Dierks had
begun a fire control program with observation
towers, fire wardens, and telephone
lines. They began hiring professional
foresters in the 1920s, and worked
closely with the Oklahoma Forest
Commission (now Oklahoma Forestry
Services) established in 1925. The
Commission
strengthened
the wildfire control program
and began programs in
seedling production and
education that helped
restore the State’s forests.
For more than 60 years, Dierks remained the largest
forest industry in Oklahoma, managing 1.8 million
acres of timberland and operating six large sawmills
in the Oklahoma-Arkansas region. The Weyerhaeuser
Company purchased the lands and operations of
Dierks Forests, Inc. in 1969, and started a new
chapter in Oklahoma’s colorful forest history.
Forests of Today
Of Oklahoma’s original 13 million acres of forest,
more than 8 million acres remain in forest cover.
Three-quarters of our forests are the pines, oak-pines
and hardwood forests of eastern Oklahoma. About
one-quarter consists of the oak-hickory of the Cross
Timbers, the hardwood forests along our rivers and
streams, cypress swamps, junipers and a variety of
woody vegetation that make Oklahoma’s forest
ecosystems some of the most diverse of any state.
Forests of Tomorrow
Forests are dynamic and renewable. The forestlands
harvested by the Dierks a century ago are as healthy
and productive as ever. Using good management
practices, our forests will remain so in perpetuity. In
the 21st Century, forestlands are being appreciated for
all the ecosystem services they provide – wood
products, wildlife habitat, clean air and clean water,
scenery, recreation, carbon sequestration and other
environmental benefits. Keeping forestlands in forest
is one of the great challenges facing forest owners,
policymakers and the State Forester as we strive to
provide the goods and services needed by a growing
population and an urbanized society while
considering the needs of the generations that follow.
You Can Help
Be our partners in sustaining Oklahoma’s forests for
the next 100 years by contributing to the forestry
cost-share program that helps landowners plant trees,
better manage their forests and keep their lands in
forest, and by supporting our programs in forestry
education and management. The history of our
forests, as well as a book about Oklahoma’s
“traveling timber towns,” is featured at the Forest
Heritage Center, located in Beavers Bend State Park.
The State Foresters of Oklahoma
George R. Phillips January 1926 - September 1936
Glen R. Durrell November 1936 - late 1946
Donald E. Stauffer Early 1947 - 1969
Albert Engstrom December 1969 - July 1975
Elmer G. Peebles June 1975 - August 1977
James W. Stanford (Acting) August 1977 - Feb 1978
James T. Riley March 1978 - January 1982
Roger L. Davis January 1982 - June 2002
John C. Burwell July 2002 - Present
Okla. Dept of Agriculture,
Food & Forestry-
Forestry Services
2800 N Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-522-6158
10,000 copies of this publication were printed by Central Printing as authorized by Terry
Peach, Commissioner of Agriculture for a cost of $2,011. Copies have been deposited
with the Publications Clearinghouse of the Okla. Department of Libraries. Nov. 2007
The Early
Years of
Forestry in
Oklahoma
A Project for the State
Centennial
Forestry Services Division
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry